University Service Union numbers grow slightly

Four Boise State employees joined the Service Employees International Union local 687 Wednesday, raising the number of Boise State members from 10 to 14.

The union sponsored a four-hour membership drive in the history department conference room, and more than 20 employees showed interest by attending a meeting later that night at the union’s office in Garden City.

Jane Busser, human services director, said rising interest could be attributed to “a most challenging year.”

“Employees have had their health insurance cut,” Busser said.

“They might be looking for different ways to promote their interests.”

But a group of 20 employees is a tiny percentage of the nearly 3500 employed at Boise State. Low interest is usually blamed on unions’ lack of potency in Idaho.

“Idaho is a very conservative state. It’s definitely an uphill battle for unions in Idaho,” said Dr. Peter Lichtenstein, chair of the Economics Department.

When asked if he had attended the meeting, he said: “I was going to go, but I had a class.”

A section of Idaho Code usually referred to as the “Right to Work” law makes it illegal to compel or prohibit union membership as a requirement of employment. Without complete representation, unions lose power to represent a group of employees collectively.

Idaho has the tenth-lowest union membership in the country for state employees (8.7%), according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s union membership report for 2001.

For many, it may seem that union membership in Idaho is futile. Jeff Olson, adjunct history professor and organizer for the SEIU, disagrees.

“Not only can we help to resolve a whole array of individually-related problems, but we will be fighting for better representation of state employees in the legislature. We expect interest to continue to grow,” said Olson.

In the first half of 2002, the union has added 125 members to its 600 from across southern Idaho. Membership in the SEIU local 687 costs $17 a month, and all public employees are eligible.

Casey Wyatt, The Arbiter

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